


Selling Our Souls

by Katarina_Claire



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Blood and Violence, CrimeAU, Drug Use, Gun Violence, I'll be updating tags as I update, M/M, Multi, OT4, Organized Crime, Polyamory, i'm not even sorry, mild torture scenes, no beta we die like men, oisuga is kinda hinted but it's just tension tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:02:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23962801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katarina_Claire/pseuds/Katarina_Claire
Summary: Some people sell their soul for the greater good and some people sell their souls to survive. There's no right or wrong. In this world, there's only alive or dead.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 10
Kudos: 192





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Tsukishima's first assignment.

_Tsukishima Kei, 23_

_Royal Guard_

“Fuck…” Tsukishima leaned the entire weight of his body against the wall, long fingers frantically searching his pockets for a key. Of course it would be in the last pocket he checked. He jammed the key into the door, wincing as the impact reminded him of the sharp pain in his shoulder. _Just make it to the couch. Just make it to the couch._ Akaashi be damned. Tsukishima started to panic as blood started pooling beneath him. He turned the door knob and the door fell open, Tsukishima falling with it.

After letting out a string of curses, Tsukishima managed to somehow drag himself into the room far enough to kick the door shut. Stumbling to his feet, he made sure that the door was locked behind him before throwing himself onto the couch. _White couches would look nice in the house, Akaashi said. White couches would up the intimidation factor when they had guests over._ Tsukishima watched as his blood soaked through the white fabric. There was no way they’d be able to get it out completely. Akaashi would kill him.

“Tsukki, are you-” Speak of the devil. A sleepy voice called out to him from the hallway. Tsukishima didn’t need to look up to know who it was. “Tsukki!” He winced at the volume of the yell. Akaashi ran to his side, dropping the gun that he was holding. “What happened to you? This was just supposed to be a pick up.”

“Keiji, you’re going to wake the other two up. I’m okay. It really looks worse than it is.”

Akaashi bit his lip. “Okay,” he said, reaching underneath the couch to grab their first aid kit, kept there for these situations specifically. He started cleaning off the blood, searching Tsukishima’s smooth skin for the source of the bleeding with practiced ease.

“Sh-Shoulder,” Tsukishima choked out as Akaashi passed right over a particularly nasty gash. “That’s the worst one. And I think maybe my hip.” Tsukishima offered, trying to be helpful. His boyfriend just glared up at him.

“We never should have let you go. This was too dangerous.” Akaashi cleaned him up the best that he could and bandaged up his wounds. Tsukishima was right. His injuries really weren’t that bad, but it was still bad enough. “Suga knew that place was being watched and he sent the newest member anyway…”

Tsukishima put a finger under Akaashi’s chin and lifted his face so that he could kiss him. He did it mostly so that he would stop talking, but also because in the last few hours, he didn’t think he would ever be able to kiss these lips ever again. Akaashi sighed and melted into the kiss, stress and fear taking a backseat.

“You know that’s why he sent me, right? Everyone already has eyes on them. I’m fresh. They wouldn’t suspect me.”

Akaashi nodded silently, knowing that logically, Tsukishima was right. That didn’t mean he had to like it, but it was four in the morning and the adrenaline wasn’t keeping them going anymore. “Can you stand?” After seeing Tsukishima nod, Akaashi looped an arm around his waist and helped lift him up. “You have to wake them up.”

Tsukishima groaned in protest, but knew that Akaashi would wake them if he didn’t. As Akaashi lowered him into their bed, Tsukishima reached out a hand to gently shake the figure closest to him.

“Mm… ‘kaashi. Sleepy.” Bokuto rolled over and draped an arm over the other Kuroo-shaped lump and buried his face into him. “Too early.”

“Koutarou, it’s me.”

Both Bokuto and Kuroo woke up to his voice. “Kei!” Bokuto reached out and touched his face with a surprisingly gentle touch. He was expecting to be wrangled into a painful hug, but Bokuto always knew somehow when one of them was hurt. “You were supposed to be back days ago. We didn’t know what happened. We thought something bad happened. Did something bad happen? I--” 

Kuroo pushed past Bokuto and smashed his lips against Tsukishima’s. He was much less gentle, but the pain wasn’t important right then and there. “We thought you died.” he murmured against his lips when he pulled away. “Bokuto was ready to leave and kill Sugawara right then and there for sending you.”

Tsukishima pressed his forehead to Kuroo’s. Now that he was in bed surrounded by all three of his boyfriends, his eyes were refusing to stay open. “I’m alive, Tetsu. My shoulder hurts like a bitch, but I’ll be okay.” Kuroo looked over him for the first time, taking in the bandages and the dried blood on his clothes.

“Kou.”

“Got it.” Bokuto pulled the blonde gently into his lap so that he was resting against his chest. Even if Tsukishima wanted to get away, there was no way he could escape.

Kuroo started running hands over Tsukishima’s body, starting at his head and carefully poking at him. Akaashi wasn’t saying anything, so he wasn’t in any real danger, but it was normal for his boyfriends to all want to check for injuries. They all had basic medical knowledge, but Kuroo knew the most out of all of them.

Kuroo’s eyes were scanning him like a machine, fingers prying and finding every tender spot on his body. He started at Tsukishima’s face and moved down along his neck. He traveled over the bandaged shoulder, feeling a stab of guilt when he heard the blond’s sharp intake of breath. “I know, Tsukki, I know. Just hold still. I just need to check.”

Moving down the blond’s abdomen, he found many bruises. None were too bad. They would all heal on their own, but there were _a lot_ of them. The worst was on his hip, but he didn’t find any broken bones. It was just bad bruising this time. Kuroo moved down each leg but didn’t get much of a reaction until his right ankle. Tsukishima hissed when he touched him and tried to pull his leg out of his grasp.

Kuroo kept a steady hold on him, testing the mobility of his foot. “Can you move your foot on your own?” A little movement. “Okay, so it’s not broken, but you have to wrap it and stay off of it for a while.”

Tsukishima huffed, but knew that there would be no arguing with him. Kuroo was all business now. He left the room to grab some more supplies. Bokuto had his chin resting on Tsukishima’s uninjured shoulder, murmuring against his neck. He ran fingers through his hair as he held him. “You shouldn’t have gone… This wasn’t right.”

The blond just rolled his eyes, even if Bokuto couldn’t see it. “I’m fine. All three of you have come hom with much worse than this.”

Akaashi’s eyes narrowed. “All three of us have more experience.”

Kuroo returned before the conversation could take off. “Hold him.” Tsukishima took a deep breath to prepare himself. He knew that meant whatever he was going to do wouldn’t be fun. Bokuto held his arms while Akaashi placed a hand down on his leg to keep it still. Tsukishima bit back a whimper. He didn’t want to sound like a child. He might have been the youngest and least experienced, but he wanted to prove his worth. Kuroo did quick work as always, moving his foot and wrapping it so that his ankle was stable and could heal properly.

It was now five in the morning and Tsukishima was exhausted, mentally and physically. The four of them settled in bed. Bokuto kept his arms wrapped around Tsukishima while Kuroo and Akaashi took the other half of the bed, limbs intertwined. Bokuto buried his face into Tsukishima’s back. Of the four of them, he was always the one who needed the most physical reassurance whenever something went wrong.

“We’re going to talk about this more, but it can wait until morning.” Bokuto grumbled at him. Tsukishima barely managed a nod before he slipped into unconsciousness. Life could wait until the next day.

* * *

“Suga, please, you can’t do that to him again…” Akaashi was leaning on the kitchen island, tracing over the patterns in the marble with a finger absentmindedly as he listened to Sugawara’s response. “Look, I get that he’s the newest and he had the best chance, but… what if something went wrong? He didn’t have anyone as backup. We all know what to do. You can’t just-” A pause again. “I know everything turned out fine in the end, but… Yes he’s still sleeping… Yes, he’s doing okay, but-” Akaashi’s free hand gripped the counter so hard that his knuckles turned white.

Bokuto came and pressed a kiss to his temple, slipping the phone out of his hand and pressing it to his own ear. “Sugawara! How the hell are ya?” Bokuto walked out of the kitchen with his phone, babbling about the weather or something equally irrelevant. Bokuto could always tell when he was at his breaking point and in that moment, Akaashi was grateful.

That didn’t mean he was any less frustrated. He ran a hand through his hair and turned his attention back to his coffee. He was normally calm, but last night had scared him. Sugawara sent Tsukishima into a trap. It was being monitored by at least three agents from the police force. Tsukishima was sent in to take out _one_ person. This person didn’t even have any influence or power. It was just… it was a trap. It was a test.

Before he could let his thoughts spiral, he looked up at the clock on the wall. It was almost noon. Tsukishima had stumbled home two days ago. A full day went by with minimal movement from the blond. He still got up every now and then to go to the bathroom or to shift in bed, but they couldn’t really wake him up no matter how hard they tried. Kuroo was torn up about it, pacing back and forth in the living room like a caged animal. They were all worried, but the three of them knew that this was normal after the first mission.

Akaashi took his coffee into the living room where his boyfriend was pacing. He put his cup down onto the table. In one smooth movement, he grabbed Kuroo’s wrist and pulled the man towards him, falling back onto the couch ith him. The day before, they’d scrubbed all of the blood off of the couch. It would never be pure white again, but maybe that was for the better. Now that Kuroo was off of his feet, he put his nervous energy into Akaashi, peppering kisses along his neck and running his hands up and down his body.

“He’s _still_ asleep,” Kuroo murmured against his skin.

“I know.”

“That trip was too much for him.”

“I know.”

“...I was so scared.” Kuroo stopped to look down at him. Akaashi cupped the older man’s face and brought it down to him, kissing him on the lips. The skin was rough and torn up from worrying, but Akaashi knew that his was probably the same.

“I know.” Kuroo buried his face into his neck again, wrapping strong arms around him. Any other day, this would feel like heaven. Today, they all felt like they were barely hanging on by a thread. When any of them got injured, the other three would always worry, but this was different. The first recovery was always the hardest and Tsukishima was too new and too inexperienced.

Bokuto returned with Akaashi’s phone. He handed it back to him and squeezed his way onto the couch with them. “Alright. I got Suga to lay off of Tsukki until he bounces back.” Kuroo turned his face just enough to look at Bokuto’s face.”

“What’d you do, Bo?”

Bokuto waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. I promised him a drink. He’s surprisingly reasonable sometimes.” Akaashi knew for a fact that he wasn’t telling the entire truth. Sugawara was their boss. He was a wild card to them. Sometimes he was reasonable and a joy to be around, but other times, he was ruthless and showed no mercy. Bokuto was able to bring out his never side more often than they were, but it always came with a price.

“Bo, the first time I asked Suga for a favor, he had me on guard duty for a month.”

“And when I asked him for a favor, he had me clean the chamber.” Akaashi shivered at the thought. He scrubbed his nails for a half hour trying to get the blood out from underneath his nails. He had showered twice afterwards to get the stink of blood and… other bodily wastes out of his hair.

Bokuto laughed and forced himself between them, sighting happily as they both wrapped their arms around him. “Don’t worry, he didn’t ask me for anything like that.” Kuroo and Akaashi shared a look, but Bokuto’s smile was infectious. The three of them settled into a pile and fell into a comfortable silence. None of them could really sleep, all worried about their fourth, but time passed somehow.

Kuroo was the first to leave the pile, leaving Bokuto and Akaashi to cuddle on the couch together. He left the living room to check on Tsukishima in the bedroom for the tenth time that hour. The room was honestly starting to smell a little. The familiar smell of day old blood hit him and Kuroo knew that he had to get Tsukishima out of bed and into the shower whether he liked it or not. It would only get worse from here if he stayed in bed. Kuroo crawled underneath the covers and pulled Tsukishima carefully closer to him. The blond moaned in protest, but scooted closer to him anyways.

Kuroo kissed the back of his head. “Hey, Moonshine. I know you’re still tired and in pain, but you gotta get in the shower and we have to change your bandages.” Tsukishima shook his head and burrowed deeper under the covers. Kuroo chuckled and went underneath with him. He started kissing his neck lightly just to keep him awake, but the light kisses turned a little more deliberate. Kuroo rolled his boyfriend over onto his back, being careful to roll him over his uninjured shoulder.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Kuroo purred, grabbing his chin to tilt his face up towards him.

Tsukishima blushed and swatted his hand away, but Kuroo knew the attention wasn’t unwelcome. He dipped his head and continued his assault on Tsukishima’s neck. He let out a soft moan as he relaxed, accepting the pampering. Large hands found their way under his shirt, hands tracing over his sensitive skin. His shirt was peeled off of him, giving Kuroo more skin to explore. After thoroughly marking Tsukishima’s neck, Kuroo moved down to his chest. “God, you’re so beautiful.”

For someone who was so quiet and reserved most of the time, Tsukishima’s desire to be praised had surprised all of them at first. He always acted so unconcerned with what people thought of him, but when Kuroo had him pinned under him in bed, the smallest compliment could completely unravel him.

Kuroo’s hands roamed his body, massaging all of his sore muscles. Even with nothing to go off of, he somehow knew exactly which part of his body was aching and needed attention. Kuroo lightly grazed Tsukishima’s nipple with his teeth and was rewarded with a gasp and long fingers tangled in his hair.

He repeated it on the other one just to hear that sound again, circling the nipple with his tongue and pulling at it gently with his teeth. He felt the hand in his hair clench and pull him closer while lower down, Tsukishima was grinding against his thigh. “Be patient, Moonshine, I’m getting there.”

“Not fast enough,” he bit back, repeating the motion again, this time grinding up right against Kuroo’s bulge. “I didn’t risk my life for you to treat me like a doll.” Tsukishima reached up and pulled Kuroo’s shirt collar so that the man’s shit-eating grin was closer. “I want you to fuck me until I _actually_ can’t walk anymore.”

“You shouldn’t be walking anyways, but if that’s what it takes.” Kuroo made quick work of his clothing, throwing it in the general direction of the bin, before pressing their lips together. Kuroo nipped at the younger man’s bottom lip. HIs lips parted obediently, giving him access to explore his mouth with his tongue. Tsukishima tried to fight back, his tongue wrestling with his for dominance. They both knew that he would fight this battle, but he also knew that Kuroo enjoyed it. Kuroo played along for a few minutes, long enough to ensure that both of them would end up with bruised lips, but then raised his hand to wrap around Tsukishima’s neck. He squeezed lightly and pulled his lips away.

“Down,” he growled, voice so low that Tsukishima would have missed it if he wasn’t so hyperfocused on every word that came out of his mouth. He replied with a whimper and forced his body still. Pleased, Kuroo slipped his boxers off, his cock springing free. Tsukishima’s eyes started hungrily at it, hand reaching out to touch it, but Kuroo pinned his wrist to the mattress. “Hands to yourself, gorgeous.” Tsukishima frowned, but still pulled his hand back. Kuroo then moved to remove the blond’s boxers, slipping them carefully over his injured ankle.

Tsukishima wanted to scream. Any other day, Kuroo would have ripped his clothes off and had him bent backwards, pounding into him like his life depended on it. It wasn’t that he _didn’t_ enjoy the teasing. He wasn’t not having fun, but he was going to lose his mind if he didn’t have Kuroo’s cock in his ass that minute. There was only one surefire way he knew of to get that. His face lit up bright pink at what he was about to do. Kuroo must have realized too because his boyfriend narrowed his eyes at him. “Tsukki, don’t you dare-”

“T-Tetsurou,” Tsukishima stuttered. He reached up and cupped the man’s face, biting his own lower lip and looking up at him with pleading eyes. He absolutely hated sinking to this level of begging, but he couldn’t deny that the embarrassment and humiliation was working for him too. “Please fuck me.”

Kuroo groaned and pushed the blond back down onto the bed. The look in his eyes got darker and Tsukishima felt excitement shoot through his body right down to his dick. Kuroo brought his lips to his ear and pulled at his earlobe. “You asked for it, Moonshine.” His hot breath made Tsukishima shiver.

* * *

Kuroo lowered himself onto the bed, pulling his cock out of Tsukishima’s hole, a trail of cum following and leaking out onto the bed. Tsukishima shivered at the feeling, still a little sensitive from being fucked so thoroughly. “If this is what I get after every trip, maybe I’ll risk my life more often.”

He got a slap on the arm for that one. Kuroo knew it was a joke, but he was still upset with Sugawara for putting him in that position in the first place. It would take a few days at least for him to be able to joke about it. “Yeah, whatever. Come on, Moonshine. We need to get cleaned up. This place smells like blood and sex.”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, his usual attitude replacing his temporary obedience. “Doesn’t this apartment always smell like blood and sex?” He got up with Kuroo’s help anyways and the two of them hobbled over to the bathroom. Tsukishima put up a brave face, but right now he was very thankful for the bathroom directly attached to their bedroom. He was even more thankful that they had a tub big enough for two of them to comfortably fit into.

Kuroo took great care in unwrapping his bandages. He hissed as some of the dried blood came off with it. It opened a few wounds that had fused to the bandages, but the bleeding was pretty minimal. Nothing that wouldn’t heal by itself. Kuroo drew the bath with hot water and lowered Tsukishima into the water first before slipping in behind him. It stung at first, but the hot water felt like a dream on Tsukishima’s muscles after he had time to adjust. The blond sighed and settled between his boyfriend’s legs, leaning back against his chest.

“Thank you, Tetsu.”

Kuroo kissed the back of his neck and started cleaning him off with a washcloth. The thanks was appreciated, but never necessary. This was a process they would go through every time someone went out on an assignment. One or two would be called out and come home exhausted, and often injured in some way. They would mentally and physically heal for a day or two, get woken up by their preference of mind-blowing sex, and then be pampered and taken care of.

It was necessary for the four of them to maintain their sanity. The kind of stuff they went through on these assignments… If they didn’t have this routine or each other, Kuroo was sure that they wouldn’t have made it this far. But that wasn’t important right now. Right now, the only thing that mattered was the person in his arms.

Kuroo buried his face into Tsukishima’s back and pulled him close. This part of the routine was just as important for him as it was for Tsukishima. It was reassurance that he was okay. He was injured, but he was alive and safe. In their line of work, that was all he could ask for.

“You’re welcome, Moonshine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next:  
> “Cut the shit, Oikawa. Give me one reason not to put a bullet through your empty fucking skull.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BokuAka finally gets some action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this has taken MONTHS, but I made this chapter longer to make up for it. PLEASE FORGIVE ME.

Bokuto woke up to a sharp elbow in the side and a heavy weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to find Akaashi curled up on his chest like a cat, holding onto his shirt with an iron grip. The elbow in his side belonged to Tsukishima, who seemed to be trying to spread out his limbs across the entire bed. His other hand was shoved in Kuroo’s face, pushing him away. He chuckled at the sight. They woke up like this more often than not. Four people sharing a bed wasn’t the most convenient way to sleep. They did have a guest room if anyone needed space to themselves, but it was rarely ever used.

Looking down at Akaashi, he wondered how he got so lucky. For years, it had only been him and Akaashi. He tried to keep the younger man away from the world he lived in. He wanted to keep his hands clean of blood and keep all of the dark nights away from him, but there really wasn’t a way to do that. If he wanted to keep Akaashi in his life, then there wasn’t another option. Bokuto moved a stray lock of hair back into place, hand moving down to cup his cheek. He still wished they could have a different life, but it was too late now.

In the middle of his thoughts, Bokuto felt nature calling. He tried to slide Akaashi off of his body as gently as he could, but the man was a light sleeper. He woke up as soon as Bokuto placed a hand on his arm.

“Where are you going?” he mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “You were warm.”

Bokuto laughed and kissed his forehead. “I’m just going to the bathroom, unless you want me to pee all over you.”

Akaashi squinted, but then decided that curling up into Tsukishima was the next best thing. The blond instinctively wrapped around him, which seemed to satisfy his need for warmth. After going through his morning routine, Bokuto snuck out into the living room, sitting on the unstained side of the couch. If his boyfriend didn’t love the white furniture so much, he would replace it with something darker. Until Akaashi came to his senses, they would just have to live with the off-white stain.

He took a deep breath to prepare himself and then picked up the phone. It was about seven in the morning, which was not when he wanted to be awake, but he really didn’t want another surprise visit from Yaku, so he would call Sugawara himself. The phone rang twice, Sugawara’s voice greeting him after the second ring.

_ “Good morning!”  _ He sounded cheerful, but that wasn’t indicative of anything. While it was true that Sugawara was reasonable and almost “nice” to him most of the time, he was still their boss. The amount of blood shed by his hands alone was enough for everyone to be on edge while talking to him. The bounty on his head surpassed the rest of them combined. 

_ Except perhaps Oikawa,  _ Bokuto thought to himself.  _ Fucking weirdo. _

“Suga! How are you?” Bokuto didn’t really have to pretend to be cheerful. It was his natural state of being. He was a ray of sunshine first and a prince second, not that he would ever say that to Sugawara out loud.

_ “I’m having a grand old time over here. You should come visit us.”  _ Bokuto made a grunt of agreement, knowing that the pleasantries were over.  _ “But anyways, that’s not what you want to talk about. Let’s talk about our new blood.” _

Bokuto hesitated before saying anything. “You mean Tsukishima?” A week had passed since the blond’s first mission. He was healing nicely, physically and mentally. He’d gotten Sugawara to leave him out of regular assignments, but it looked like his time was up.

_ “Oikawa told me good things about how he did. The boy got a clean shot on the target, right between the eyes.”  _ Bokuto didn’t like where this was going. This felt similar to what happened when Akaashi had joined. His first mission had him shivering in front of him, hand holding a gun and splattered with his target’s blood. Akaashi was never able to take the final shot, but Bokuto was there to take it for him. He never thought they’d go from high school sweethearts to literal partners in crime.  _ “And he managed to get to Oikawa even with that nasty shoulder and his ankle busted. He has some spite to fuel him and I like it.” _

“Where are you going with this?” Bokuto spat out between gritted teeth. The laugh that he heard in response made his blood boil.

_ “Don’t worry, I’m not sending him out. I made you a promise, didn’t I?”  _ He paused, but Bokuto knew that Sugawara was not waiting for a response.  _ “I just want you to think about giving the boy some skills. I don’t know if he got that shot by accident or if he has terrific aim, but if he can give us results every time, then I can see him climbing pretty well.” _

“He’s not going to be anything but a guard, Sugawara. You have Kuroo and you have me.” Bokuto had to remind himself to keep his voice low, knowing that if he started yelling, he would wake up everyone in the other room. This wasn’t really a conversation he wanted them to know about. “We made a deal that you would leave Akaashi alone and now I’m asking you to cut me another one for him.”

_ “Koutarou,”  _ Sugawara purred into the phone. It sent shivers down Bokuto’s spine. He knew he was overstepping, but he could handle it if it meant Tsukishima would be safe.  _ “We already have a deal. I’m not going to make another one with you. Tsukishima shows a lot of promise, the same way Akaashi did. I can’t have you hiding two gems from me. Tetsurou on the other hand… if he wants to give me a call, I might be in the mood for some negotiations.” _

He nearly hung up on the phone right then and there. Between him and Kuroo, Bokuto ranked slightly higher and felt that it was his responsibility to keep him safe too. He didn’t want any of them to have to go through the kind of stuff that he had gone through. “Suga, how long have you known me? Tsukishima just got out of college, man. Why him?”

_ “For the same reason I took you in, Koutarou.”  _ Sugawara was getting angry now, his words laced with poison.  _ “Don’t fuck with me. I cut a deal with you for Akaashi and I’m starting to have second thoughts about him already. I wouldn’t push your luck if I were you.”  _ Bokuto’s confidence faltered, hearing the other man’s rage through the phone. He heard some shuffling of the phone and a new voice rang through, a little lighter, but no less unsettling.

_ “Hel-lo, Koutarou! Sorry to intrude on your friendly chat, but our dear Koushi is going to take a quick break with me.”  _ Oikawa ignored Sugawara’s threats in the background. How he was so unaffected was beyond him.  _ “I’ll have him call you back later. Until then, enjoy your time with your boys. Tsukishima’s a cutie. Tell him I say hello!” _

Before Bokuto could respond, the line went dead. He put his phone down and stared at the black screen for a moment. He let out a frustrated sigh and leaned his head back onto the couch. Trying to negotiate with Sugawara was like throwing a knife up in the air blindfolded. It was a shot in the dark and there was no telling if the knife would fall on you or when. Bokuto pushed it a lot and was mostly successful, but his luck was bound to run out eventually.

He sighed again and made his way into the kitchen. He wanted so desperately to go back to bed, but the first person up was always responsible for making coffee for everyone and he needed them to be in a good mood for the bad news that would inevitably hit them. With the cofee maker set, Bokuto made his way back into the bedroom.

It seemed that no one really changed positions during his call. Kuroo was still being slowly pushed off the bed and Akaashi was still clinging tight to Tsukishima’s body, covers tucked right under his chin. He smiled at the sight and tucked himself back into his open spot. Bokuto unhooked Akaashi’s claws, with much difficulty, from Tsukishima’s shirt. All three of them stirred a little, Kuroo pulling himself back to Tsukishima and Akaashi snaking his hands inside of Bokuto’s shirt to stay warm.

“What was the call about?” he mumbled, still not quite awake. Bokuto ruffled his hair and wrapped an arm around him.

“Don’t worry about it. I was just catching up with a friend.”

“Liar.” Akaashi glared up at him, but was clearly too exhausted to start an argument.

Boktuo just nodded his head. He didn’t really expect him to let it slide and would pay for it later. For now, he just leaned down to capture his boyfriend’s lips with his. “Yeah, you caught me, but we can talk about it after I sleep a little more.”

“Mm.”

* * *

_ Sugawara Koushi, 25 _

_ King _

“Explain yourself.” Sugawara glared at the brunet sitting cross-legged on his desk. He was wearing black slacks with matching shoes. His shirt was tucked, but the top few buttons were unbuttoned and his sleeves were rolled up unevenly. Only OIkawa could still look good while dressed this sloppily. Sugawara’s state of dress was in direct contrast, donning a black turtleneck underneath a grey, plaid jacket with matching pants. Everything about his appearance was clean, unlike the rest of him.

Oikawa shrugged and dropped the phone into the other’s lap. “I got tired of listening to you threaten Bokuto-san with that scary voice of yours.” He hugged himself and feigned a shiver. “I just couldn’t stand hearing it. I had to protect him from your wicked words.”

The silver haired boss rolled his eyes and grabbed ahold of Oikawa’s collar. He pulled his pretty face down an inch away from his own. “Cut the shit, Oikawa. Give me one reason not to put a bullet through your empty fucking skull.”

Oikawa didn’t seem fazed by his threat. In fact, he seemed quite pleased with himself. Oikawa took this as an opportunity to slither into Sugawara’s lap. “So demanding. I love that about you.” Oikawa said with a wink. When Sugawara let go of his collar with a look of disgust, he straightened out his shirt and cleared his throat. “If you try to get Tsukki through Bokuto or Kuroo it’s not going to work. They’re overprotective and know us too well.”

He swung a leg around so that he was straddling the other man. Sugawara’s hands naturally fell to hold onto Oikawa’s hips, making sure the brunet was settled before responding. “Tsukishima is different. He has something to prove. I want him.”

Oikawa waved a perfectly manicured finger in his face. He could feel the boss’s anger radiating off of him. “And that is exactly why they’ll never let you have him. He’s their precious cargo. No way they’d let you put your  _ dirty  _ hands on him, especially after the trial you put him through.” Oikawa chuckled, remembering the way Tsukishima had shown up to his car, clutching a bloody shoulder and eyes wide open from fear and adrenaline. “You did a goddamn number on him, but I think he’ll come crawling to us himself. We just have to plant some ideas.”

Sugawara pretended to consider it. He hated Oikawa with every fiber of his being. The man was impossible to read and he was only here to make his life more difficult. Every time his skin accidentally brushed against him felt like a flamek licking his skin. “I’ll drag the boy here myself. I don’t need you.” He made a motion to push him off of his lap.

Quicker than he could react, Oikawa pulled the boss in by the gold chain hanging around his neck. There was a flash of something in those chocolate eyes that didn’t come out very often. He stil had that stupid smile plastered on his face, but his demeanor shifted to something poisonous. “Must I remind you,  _ King,”  _ he murmured, lips not even an inch from his lips. Hot breath caressed his cheek and tickled his jaw. “That you’re in no position to be feisty with me.”

There was a tense moment of silence before Oikawa let him fall back in his chair. “Anyways, I think you should reconsider your stance on this. The last time we did things your way, you let Akaashi fall from your grasp. I’m not sure you want that to happen again.” Oikawa leaned in with hooded eyes to press his lips against the other’s. Just before they connected, Sugawara grabbed his chin and held him firmly in place. “Mm, you’re not fun, Koushi.”

“You’re a snake, Oikawa.” He shoved the man away, brunet landing easily on his feet. “I won’t go after him, but I’m leaving him to you. If you fuck up, you know what happens.”

Oikawa grinned and licked his lips, not the least bit concerned.

“Yes,  _ your highness.” _

* * *

Kuroo was the next to wake up, smelling the familiar scent of coffee wafting into the room. He could feel Tsukishima pushing at him and laughed. He always woke up to the blond pushing him away while their legs were still tangled together. He pried the blond’s hands away and wrapped him into a sweaty death grip. “Wakey, wakey.” He got a shake of the head as a response and a face buried into his chest. “Come on, Moonshine. I smell coffee. Don’t you want coffee?”

The younger man groaned and hit him with a half-hearted swipe. “No, I want five more minutes.” Tsukishima was not really a morning person. Before 10am, Kuroo wasn’t even sure he could count as a person. He was more like a blond log that was impossible to pry from underneath the covers. It was endearing sometimes, but Kuroo desperately wanted a cup of fucking coffee.

“Keeeeeei,” Kuroo ran his fingers through his hair, earning himself a pleased moan. “Pleeeeease?” I don’t want to go alone and you’re already awake.” Tsukishima slapped him on the arm again before somehow curling further into him, using his body to block out the sunlight.

“We’re  _ all  _ awake at this point, Tetsurou…” Akaashi turned his head slightly to glare at him. His body was still mostly hidden by Bokuto’s, but he could at least poke his head over his shoulder. Akaashi wormed his way over Bokuto’s body so that he and Tsukishima were being sandwiched in by their older boyfriends. Akaashi pulled Tsukishima towards him possessively, resting his chin on the blond’s shoulder to whisper into his ear. “You know he’s just going to be a nightmare until you say yes and go with him.”

“I know,” Tsukishima said in defeat, “I’m just waiting to hear what’s in it for me.” A cold hand slithered around his waist and he hissed. Akaashi was so cold first thing in the morning, even surrounded by two human heat packs. Tsukishima felt his hand travel underneath his shirt and up his chest, searching for warmth. A light graze against his nipple drew a gasp from his lips and he arched into Akaashi’s chest.

“Oops, sorry.”

“No you’re not,” Tsukishima argued back, grinding his ass back against him as revenge. He felt a surge of pride when Akaashi let out a soft moan in his ear. He knew that his boyfriend was particularly sensitive and vulnerable when he first woke up. IN the first hour or so of being awake, Akaashi acted almost purely on instinct.

Akaashi’s icy cold fingers roamed along Tsukishima’s chest, feeling along the hard lines of his muscles. He was tall and skinny, but years of conditioning and college sports treated his body well. His hand started to travel back down his chest, this time lingering on his nipple a little longer. Tsukishima reached behind him to grab Akaashi’s thigh, long fingers digging into the pale flesh, earning him another sweet moan.

Kuroo propped himself up onto his side, eyes watching as his boys played with each other. He was torn between joining in and staying to the side to watch it all unfold. He watched Tsukishima shift so that he was hovering over Akaashi, shirt riding up just enough to show off his nicely defined abs. Kuroo decided he would wait a little before joining in. He wanted to see Tsukishima take charge for a change.

The blond lowered himself so that his body was pressed flush against the shorter man. He pressed their lips together, hand reaching up to cup his face. Akaashi was so soft and comforting compared to Kuroo and Bokuto. He just wanted to drink up everything about him. He tugged on his boyfriend’s lower lip, parting his lips enough to trace along his teeth with his tongue. Akaashi moaned against him and reached up to tangle his fingers in his blond hair.

He rolled his hips up to meet him, making Tsukishima painfully aware of just how hard they both were already. Hooded blue eyes rolled back slightly before coming back to Tsukishima, pleading for more. “I’ve got you, Keiji.” The older man shivered underneath him. Tsukishima moved down his neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses as he went. The fingers in his hair continued massaging his scalp, occasionally pulling as he moved over a sensitive spot. Falling down to his collarbone, he brushed his lips over his favorite spot and started sucking on the pale skin, sure to leave a nice dark mark for later. Akaashi whimpered and pulled harder at Tsukishima’s hair, still too sleep-ridden to properly voice his desires.

Akaashi felt like he was in a dream, being blanketed insoft kisses and light touches, with moments of brief, intense pleasure to bring him back to reality. This was his favorite way to wake up. He loved the hot, sloppy sex after missions, but in the mornings, this was all he wanted. Tsukishima’s mouth closing around his nipple pulled him from his thoughts, back arching off the bed. “Pl-Please, Kei…” His breath caught in his throat, feeling his hot tongue circle around lovingly before the sharp pull.

“Relax, darling.” Akaashi shivered at the rarely uttered pet name that fell from Tsukishima’s lips. “Let me take care of you.”

* * *

_ Bokuto Koutarou, 25 _

_ Prince _

Bokuto drew the curtains shut in the living room. Even though it was almost midnight, they could never be too safe. He dimmed the lights and laid supplies out onto the coffee table in the living room. With practiced ease, he checked everything through. All of their medical supplies were there, not that he anticipated needing them. YOu never really knew and it was better to be safe than sorry. He then moved on to check their hand weapons. These were the weapons that he kept closer to his body, hidden beneath clothes. He made sure that their knives were sharpened and cleaned. He tucked one into the waistband of his slacks, hidden from view.

Then, the more important part. He checked over the guns that were laid out. Bokuto knew that Kuroo checked them over already, but he went through the motions anyway. Once they were cleaned and checked, he made sure that they were both loaded, making sure to tuck away some extra ammunition in case they ended up needing it. He took one and tucked it into his jacket. He took the other one and held it out to the boyfriend watching him.

_ Akaashi Keiji, 24 _

_ Royal Guard _

Akaashi accepted it, tucking it into his jacket as well. He looked much less comfortable handling it than Bokuto did. He also accepted a knife and the brass knuckles. Bokuto always gave Akaashi far more than he needed. Despite giving him all of this extra protection, he never actually let Akaashi do anything that could get him hurt. To this day, Akaashi had never been in a situation where he had to kill anyone. He’d drawn liters of blood, but he had never taken a life.

Bokuto gritted his teeth, checking over their supplies in his head one last time, including a surprise in his pocket. He would lay his own life before he let Akaashi be put in that position. This was as low-key of a mission as he could manage. A negotiation with minimal chance of violence. Yaku didn’t want Bokuto to even go with Akaashi, but he had insisted when he found it would be his first solo mission.

_ “He can handle this, you know.” _

_ “Yeah. I know.” _

_ “Then why are you doing this? They won’t like it.” _

_ “Yeah. I know.” _

And Sugawara and Oikawa really did not like it, but he would deal with that later. First, he had to get them through this trip. “Okay, you remember what the plan is?”

Akaashi gave a slight nod. “We go in, we get them alone, we get them to say yes.” He paused to look up into his boyfriend’s eyes. “No matter what it takes.”

Bokuto nodded and echoed him. “No matter what it takes.” He got up and sighed, straightening out his jacket. He patted himself down, making sure that nothing that he hid away could be seen. He was dressed nicely, but not too nicely. He wanted to blend in and not attract attention. There was nothing that could be done about his hair, but it had never caused any issues before.

Akaashi was dressed similarly, wearing a black jacket over a violet button up. The top few buttons were undone, showing a bit of his bruised collarbone. Bokuto gave him a once over. He looked good enough to eat and he felt a pang of jealousy, even though they hadn’t left yet. “I just might have to kill everyone who gets to see you like this.”

Akaashi rolled his eyes and moved to his side, fixing his collar. “Well, I don’t want anyone to see you like this either.” Eyes flicked up to meet him, planting a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth. “But we can make it up to each other after we finish.” Bokuto grinned and clapped a hand onto his boyfriend’s ass.

“Good. Alright, well, let’s just get this over with.”

* * *

The two of them took the car that Yaku had provided them. It was black and looked just like every other car on the road, which would work in their favor if things escalated. Worst case scenario, they could just abandon the car and call for disposal later. Parked in the back of the building, Bokuto looked over at Akaashi in the passenger seat. If he was nervous, he wasn’t showing it. Akaashi was still relatively new, but he had done and seen a lot already. He was used to doing grunt work, which generally had fewer risks.

“Why did Yaku tell you to come?” Akaashi interrupted his thoughts, as if he could hear them.

“Maybe he just wanted someone to drive you.” Bokuto said casually, trying not to make a big deal out of it. Akaashi didn’t know that he had requested to come and he wanted to keep it that way.

His boyfriend didn’t seem swayed and looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but it was nearing two in the morning and they needed to move. The two of them nodded silently at each other, agreeing to continue the conversation after their assignment. 

Bokuto looked up at the neon sign. The music coming from the club was loud and he could smell the sweat and alcohol from outside the door. Even though it was the middle of the night, there was still a line waiting to get in. There was a large, muscular man standing at the front doors. He looked like your typical bouncer.

Yaku had given them all the information they needed for this. It seemed that whoever was working that night could be bought off, which was convenient for them. Sugawara had no shortage of cash. They went right up to the front of the line, ignoring a few jeers and calls from the line. Bokuto paid them no mind and went straight up to the bouncer.

“We’re with Morisuke.”

Anyone else wouldn’t have noticed the change in the bouncer’s expression, but the two of them could see the surprise and fear that came to the front of his eyes. Bokuto handed a wad of cash over to the man, but based on the speed at which the man moved aside, he wasn’t sure that was even necessary. Bokuto nodded his thanks and clapped the man on the shoulder. He wasn’t exactly sure what Yaku did to the man, but knowing the trio in charge of the family, he was sure he didn’t want to know.

The heat hit them as soon as they stepped into the club, sucking the breath from their lungs. The haze made it difficult to see and the music made it near impossible to hear. Akaashi made a face when he felt his shoes stick to some mystery liquid on the floor. “Ugh, this place is disgusting.”

Bokuto nodded. “That makes it perfect. I can barely see past a few feet in front of me.” He looked back at his boyfriend. “You good?”

Akaashi rolled his eyes and walked ahead of him, clear goal in mind. Bokuto decided to let him take the lead. It was supposed to be his assignment, after all. Bokuto could just jump in if things got hairy.

They had to squeeze past a few crowds to reach the bar in the corner of the club. A number of women and even some men tried to stop them as they made their way through the crowd. He could smell the alcohol on their breath. One woman even went as far as to fall on Akaashi completely, trying to win his favor. Bokuto couldn’t blame her. He was  _ very  _ pretty and from the way she was giggling at him, he could tell that he was using his quiet charm to his advantage. Bokuto himself warded off these strangers by simply redirecting them so he could keep an eye on his boyfriend.

Finally wading through the sea of sharks, Akaashi took a seat at the bar and popped his elbows up on the counter, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. “Takeda Ittetsu,” Akaashi said in a purr. He only used this voice when he wanted something, normally reserved for the bedroom.

The bartender turned to the duo and raised an eyebrow. He had a shaker in his hand and Akaashi watched patiently as the man made his drink and slid it to whoever had ordered it. “Don’t think I know your faces. How do you know my name?”

Akaashi took a few extra seconds to look over their alcohol selection before answering. “A friend told me to come here,” he lied as easily as he breathed. “Said there’s a cute bartender who makes some really good drinks.”

The man flushed, but didn’t look any less confused. “Who’s your friend?”

“Ukai. I’ll have a mojito, thanks.”

Takeda stopped and froze. “Ukai? Oh. I didn’t know he talked about me.” He started making his drink, but never turned his back to the two of them. Keishin Ukai was the person who owned the club and they knew he was working tonight. All they had to do was find him and based on the way the bartender was acting, this looked to be the fastest way to him.

“We haven’t seen each other in a while. I just happened to be in the area and he said he was working tonight,” Akaashi continued, completely unconcerned with the man’s change in demeanor. Akaashi was normally reserved, but he was a very good actor when he needed to be. He gave Takeda a little smile and leaned in, as if he was going to tell him a secret. “And you know how he is, always forgetting to mention the little things.”

Takeda chuckled and placed the mojito in front of Akaashi. “That sounds like him.” Bokuto laughed at how easily he bought Akaashi’s lies. Whoever this person was, whatever connection he had to the owner, clearly didn’t know enough about him. Takeda turned to look in Bokuto’s direction. “Can I get you anything?”

“I’ll just have a whiskey.” Takeda nodded and had a glass in front of him within seconds. Bokuto put down enough cash to cover both of their drinks as well as a generous tip. Takeda took the cash and slipped it into his vest.

“Speaking of Ukai, did you guys want to go see him?” Bokuto gave Akaashi credit for not spitting out his drink. They hadn’t expected to be handed this access so easily. He was sure Akaashi was prepared to sweet-talk the man for another half hour just to get to Ukai. It normally took far longer to gain someone’s trust, but it seemed that Takeda was just a little too trusting, which made his connection to Ukai that much more confusing.

Akaashi’s eyes lit up, clutching his drink in one hand. “If that’s alright with him. Where would we be able to find him?”

“I’ll take you.” Takeda said before yelling at another bartender to cover for him for a moment. To his credit, he never allowed the two of them to truly be behind him. He walked beside them so that he could still chat with them as he led them down an old staircase. This place seemed to be riddled with side passageways and hidden rooms. No wonder Sugawara had chosen this place. They talked easily about nothing as they walked. Bokuto could feel his pulse quicken, knowing what was about to come. He just hoped that Akaashiw as ready too.

Takeda knocked before pushing the door open. “Ukai, some friends came to see you.”

The faux blond looked up from his desk. “I don’t have-” he paused, seeing their two faces. One glance at the looks on their faces was all it took. He jumped out of his chair. “Takeda, get away from them.”

Bokuto was faster. He grabbed the collar of Takeda’s shirt. The man had no chance of moving away. Akaashi didn’t move his eyes away from Ukai. “Keishin Ukai. We just want to have a quick chat.”

Ukai took a drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke in Akaashi’s direction. “If you’re who I think you are, I don’t want anything to do with either of you. I don’t want any trouble. Leave.”

Takeda looked between the three of them. The look in his eyes confirmed Bokuto’s assumption that he didn’t know anything. Ukai didn’t know them, but he certainly wasn’t a stranger to their organization. They didn’t know the exact history, but Ukai and Sugawara knew each other. Clearly, whatever relationship they had didn’t end well.

“That’s not really an option and I think you know that.”

Ukai pulled a gun out of the drawer in his desk and pointed it directly at Akaashi. They were prepared for this. Bokuto still had a grip on the other man, but still pulled his own gun out with a free hand and pointed it at Takeda’s temples. “I wouldn’t point that all willy nilly if I were you.”

He lowered the gun a little, but still kept it trained on Akaashi. “What does he want?”

Akaashi stepped closer to Ukai. Bokuto was impressed with his resolve. It had been a while since he’d been able to go on an assignment with Akaashi. This kind of cold, risky confidence was a surprise. “Don’t worry, he just wants full use of your building.” Before Ukai could say anything, Akaashi slapped his gun away from his direction. “Don’t worry. You can still run it and have your club. All we want,” Bokuto looked up, concerned that  _ he  _ had turned into  _ we _ . “is for you to turn a blind eye.”

Ukai laughed. “Why the fuck would I let that happen? What makes you think I wouldn’t call the cops on you?” He pushed Akaashi back against the wall, gun now pressed under his jaw, pointing up. “I know what kind of shit you guys get into and I don’t want any part of it.” The blond looked down as he felt pressure against his abdomen. There was a knife in Akaashi’s hands, separating the two of their bodies.

Bokuto was watching with an intense gaze. He had an iron grip on Takeda, not that the man was really resisting. He had tried to get away at first, but was so scared that he’d just stopped and was now watching with wide eyes.

Akaashi held his free hand out to Bokuto. “My love?” Bokuto pushedTakeda against the wall with the gun while he dug into his pocket with his other hand. He took out a piece of paper and handed it to Akaashi. He held up the piece of paper to Ukai. It was a photo that Yaku had given them.

_ It’s our golden ticket into that place. Just show it to him and we’ll have it. _

Yaku was never wrong and it looked like today was no exception. Ukai backed away from Akaashi. “Where did you get that photo?”

Bokuto decided to chime in for this one. “We got it from a little birdie. You know Sugawara has eyes everywhere.” The picture was a current photo of Ukai’s grandfather. He didn’t know how Yaku had gotten the photo, but it wasn’t really the photo that affected Ukai. It was the underlying threat that made him step back.

Ukai finally looked a little less confident than before. Bokuto could sympathize with him. Most of the people in the organization knew this feeling well. Having someone close to you held over your head constantly. For Ukai, there was only one way to ensure his grandfather’s safety. “Sugawara won’t involve you directly in anything. You don’t have to do a single thing except look the other way.” Bokuto said with a smile. He pushed Takeda over to Ukai’s side as an olive branch. Watching his arm wrap around the man protectively made him smile a little, but also made him a little sad. He was trying to hide Takeda from them, but now Ukai had one more person that he wanted to protect.

“I don’t like it.”

The corner of Akaashi’s lips curved up. “You don’t have to.” He held out a hand to Ukai. “Am I telling Sugawara that we have a deal or am I telling him about your relationship with Takeda?” That threat caught Bokuto off guard, not because it was made, but because Akaashi was the one who made it. They already had Takeda’s name, but the nature of their relationship was new and very useful.

Ukai did not respond well to this new threat. He pushed Akaashi roughly against the wall. His arm lifted to hold the knife against Ukai’s throat, but not before the back of his head was slammed into the concrete. Bokuto had moved to his side the second Ukai moved, pressing the gun into his side. Bokuto was close enough to see the thin line of blood that Akaashi’s knife drew.

“You don’t want to do this,” Akaashi said calmly. He was fooling Ukai, but Bokuto could hear that the impact against his head was affecting him more than he wanted to admit. “Sugawara  _ really  _ likes us.” Bokuto wondered briefly if he knew how true that was or if he was pulling that out of his ass. He suspected the latter.

The older man knew what that meant, but didn’t seem to care. Takeda was still by the desk, trying to figure out what to do. Bokuto noticed that the man had a cellphone in his hand. “Throw the phone over here or I’ll blow out his shoulder,” Bokuto growled at him. Takeda dropped it in surprise and then kicked it over at him. After a quick search, Bokuto confirmed that no calls were made and no messages were sent. He dropped the phone and stomped on it, the heel of his shoe crushing it.

They were at a stand still now. If Ukai moved, he would either be shot or have his neck slashed. If Akaashi moved, he’d be getting a bullet to the stomach. Bokuto was the safest one in the moment, but it didn’t feel like it.

“If you don’t want Sugawara knowing about your relationship with him, then you know what you have to do.” Akaashi stared him down, pressing the knife a little harder into his neck. It put pressure on him, but it didn’t cut any deeper. Ukai shoved him into Bokuto, a look of bitter defeat coloring his features.

“Fine. Just… get out.”

Bokuto steadied Akaashi with a hand on his shoulder. Akaashi looked back at him and grinned. “Thanks.” Turning back to the older pari, he waved at them, knife still in his hand. “Someone will be in touch. We’re glad that this could work out. However,” Akaashi threw the knife in his hand at Takeda. It scraped the man’s arm, cutting through his shirt and leaving a gash in his arm. Takeda cried out, more from the shock than the pain. The cut was very minor and Bokuto knew that with Akaashi’s aim, he could have put that knife anywhere. Ukai looked like he wanted to kill him, finger twitching on the trigger. “If we find out you called anyone, we won’t be so nice.”

* * *

The two of them made a hasty exit out of the club. There were still plenty of people there, but it was beginning to wind down. Akaashi was thankful because his head was pounding. On their way out, he put a gentle hand on the councer’s arm. “Take care.” He said before turning to get to the parking lot. No need to abandon the car and call for clean up, but they would be taking a different route to get home if he knew Bokuto at all. The chill outside of the club made his hair stand on end and he let out a sigh of relief once they were safe in the car.

Bokuto buckled into the driver’s side and started driving. He went the way opposite that they came. Akaashi lifted a hand to the back of his head and touched it gently, hissing when he found the point of impact.  _ Fuck, that hurt…  _ Akaashi looked at his fingers. There wasn’t any blood, but it still hurt plenty. He was still lucid and knew his name and what had just happened. No symptoms of a concussion, just a pulsing headache.

“How’s your head?” Bokuto asked, hearing his hiss. Bokuto was always too perceptive when it came to his feelings and thoughts. Before Kuroo and Tsukishima, it was just the two of them fighting against the world. Of course, Akaashi wasn’t in the organization yet back then, but it was still difficult. Akaashi thanked his lucky stars that Sugawara had let him join the family. This way, he could become part of Bokuto’s life and look after him, even if he didn’t need it.

“It hurts, but it’ll be fine if I just ice it.” Akaashi put a hand on Bokuto’s thigh. He knew that he was just worried. He’d been so opposed to letting Akaashi in because he was afraid of him getting hurt. He suspected that Bokuto had asked to come along to protect him. He didn’t really mind, but he did worry about what kinds of deals he was making to be allowed to come along.

“That’s good,” Bokuto said, pulling him from his thoughts. “You handled that well back there.” Akaashi could hear the underlying question in his words. The last time Bokuto had gone with him on a mission, he didn’t have the confidence he did now.

“Thanks. It wasn’t that big of an assignment. And you were there, so I wasn’t worried at all.” Akaashi admitted truthfully, squeezing Bokuto’s thigh a little bit. He knew that if Bokuto was there, he never had to worry about anything. He felt that way about Kuroo as well. Whenever they went on assignments together, Kuroo would always take the lead, but he also would always put himself in harm’s way just to protect him. It was infuriating sometimes because Akaashi didn’t want them to get hurt, but it did make his heart swell a little.

Bokuto was grinning from ear to ear. “Yeah, but you probably didn’t need me there.” He looked a little embarrassed now. “Actually… I have a confession.” Akaashi already knew what he was going to say, but he would let him come clean anyways. “I asked Yaku to let me go with you. I just haven’t gone with you in a while so I was worried.”

“I know, Koutarou. It’s okay.” Akaashi cleared his throat. “Speaking of Yaku, we have to go see him, don’t we?”

Bokuto’s grin fell away. “Yep. We do.”

* * *

They arrived at the main building after many unnecessary twists and turns. It was just to ensure no one was following them. At almost four in the morning, there was almost no one on the roads, but you could never be too careful. Parking the car in the back, they took the back stairs down to the basement of the boring looking apartment building. It was a large building that looked just like every other apartment on the street. Sugawara actually owned the entire building and, Akaashi suspected, the entire street.

The basement was dark, but the two of them knew where they were going. Third door on the right was where Yaku was generally. Akaashi knocked and made sure to listen closely for him to be invited in. Entering a room in this building without being invited in was never a good idea. The amount of times he’d walked in on people either fucking or dying was too many to count. Neither one was particularly nice to see, so he always waited.

“Come in!” A voice rang from behind the door. Bokuto and Akaashi shared a look. That voice was very clearly not Yaku, but they entered anyway.

_ Oikawa Tooru, 25 _

_ Joker _

Akaashi’s step faltered when he saw the other man, suddenly very thankful that Bokuto had forced his way onto this assignment. As a new member, he usually dealt with Yaku on a day to day basis. He would talk to Sugawara on the phone sometimes, but very rarely. Oikawa was a relatively new face. He looked harmless enough to anyone outside of the organization, but he brought a sense of unease with him wherever he went.

It wasn’t that he was particularly scary the way Sugawara was. The tension came from lack of real information. All anyone knew of him came from rumors. No one besides Sugawara and Yaku knew what his status was in the organization or what he truly did. He would just insert himself seemingly randomly into situations as he saw fit. The brown haired man got up off the desk and walked forwards towards them, stopping a foot in front of Akaashi. His eyes scanned him from the floor up, lingering on his hands for an extra second.

“Keiji, I’m glad to see you! Koutarou, you as well. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the two of you together.” Oikawa smiled at the two of them. Akaashi didn’t smile back and neither did Bokuto, but he didn’t seem offended. Actually, he seemed to expect it. He reached out and adjusted the collar of Akaashi’s shirt. “How was Keiji’s work? Impressive, no?”

The question was obviously aimed at Bokuto, who didn’t seem all too pleased that he had his hands on his boyfriend. Oikawa made a show of it, hands traveling along his chest to smooth out invisible wrinkles before resting back into his own pockets. “He did well, like always.”

Oikawa nodded in agreement. “Good. I’ll assume that we got the club secured. I’m glad that they didn’t give you too much trouble.” He trotted around the desk and searched the drawers for something. “Hm, I’m sure he left it somewhere… Ah! There it is.” Oikawa pulled out an envelope filled with cash. He took a seat behind the desk and counted it. “This should be enough for the two of you.” He held out the envelope to Akaashi.

“Thank you.” Akaashi was surprised by the steadiness of his voice. He stepped forward to take the envelope and felt his heart leap into his throat when Oikawa suddenly grabbed his wrist with his other hand. The look he was giving him was different now. It looked like he was challenging him. He heard Bokuto shift behind him, but he couldn’t seem to pull his eyes away from Oikawa.

“I’m just curious…” Oikawa said as if he didn’t have Akaashi’s wrist in a death grip. “Your track record with us has been excellent. You’re a fast learner and you make very few mistakes.” Bokuto was right behind him now, keeping a watchful eye on the situation. It was two against one, but there was a reason Oikawa had the confidence that he had. To this day, Oikawa was rumored to have the cleanest record. No injuries, no mistakes. There had to be a reason.

“Thank you.” Akaashi said once more, testing the mobility of his wrist. He could shift slightly, but Oikawa’s grip just tightened, expression maintaining the same level of intensity. He wasn’t sure what Oikawa wanted out of this conversation, but he was sure that it wasn’t just to compliment him. 

“I hear you have excellent aim.” Oikawa didn’t wait for a confirmation. He was just rattling off information that he knew. “You have the skills and you have the act. So I’m wondering why,” Brown eyes shifted to meet Bokuto’s glare, “ _ you  _ decided to tag along with him.”

“I didn’t mind.” Akaashi tried to explain, before Bokuto could say anything.

“Oh dear,” Oikawa pushed his wrist back, starting to bend his hand in a way that it did not want to go. It wasn’t painful yet, but it was starting to get a little uncomfortable. “I didn’t ask you. I asked  _ him. _ ”

Bokuto looked like he wanted to burn the place to the ground, but held back. He knew the most about Oikawa and how to deal with him, yet it still felt like dealing with a bomb about to go off. “I asked to go along because I was worried.” It was the truth. Akaashi looked at him, hoping that it would be enough of an answer.

The brunet seem satisfied enough with this information. He let go of his wrist and allowed him to back away. Akaashi massaged his wrist with his other hand as he listened to Oikawa ramble on as if nothing had happened. “Anyways, Morisuke is very sorry that he couldn’t make it to meet you, but I got the chance to catch up with an old friend, so it worked out!” Bokuto didn’t seem to share that sentiment. His dislike for the man was obvious. The two of them stared at each other like predators standing over him, ready to pounce at the slightest threat. Somehow… Akaashi felt like their prey.

“We’ll be leaving now.” Bokuto said suddenly, taking Akaashi’s arm and leading him towards the door.

“Of course, but Keiji,” Oikawa paused to capture his full attention. If he was anyone else, the smile on the man’s face would be enough to make him melt and fall into his arms. Knowing what he knew, it felt more like being drawn into a fire. “I’ll be in touch. I know what you’re capable of.”

Akaashi couldn’t come up with a response, so he just let Bokuto drag him out of the room.

_ What does he want... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it was worth the wait!
> 
> Also, I've made the executive decision to remove all of the explicit scenes from the fic. I'm probably going to move them all over to my tumblr for anyone who still wants them as well as any side scenes that got cut.
> 
> My tumblr: https://milk--bread.tumblr.com/
> 
> I also have a twitter if you're interested in random scenes and ramblings from me: @kyanma_pi


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